Construction of machines



June 7, 1938. M. SMITH 2,120,194

CONSTRUCT ION OF MACHINES Filed Sept. 9, 19 36 3 Sheets-Sheet l $19 17 #wewrae June 7, 1938. M. SMITH 2,120,194 7 CONSTRUCTION OF MACHINES Filed Sept. 9, 1936 s Sheets-Sheet2 Fig.9.

June 7, 1938. M. sMlTH 2,120,194

- CONSTRUCTION OF MACHINES Filed Sept. 9, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented June 7, 1938 UNITED STATES CONSTRUCTION OF MACHINES Morton Smith, Long Eaton, England, assignor to Sidney Hobson, Nottingham, England Application September 9, 1936, Serial No. 100,029

In Great Britain 2 Claims.

This invention is for improvements in the construction of machines. Machines as at present built have their working parts supported in the requisite interacting relation in a solid frame or 5 bed plate, which is usually of cast or wrought metal, although sometimes this bed plate or frame consists of two or three comparatively solid castings rigidly bolted together. This form of construction has certain disadvantages. In the first place, the arrangement is generally such that the machines must be packed and transported, each as a complete unit, which leads to substantial freightage and tariff charges. In the second place, expensive patterns are required for the bed plates, which latter themselves are massive and expensive and necessitate intricate machining and fitting operations to provide the necessary bearings and other points of attachment for the working parts. Finally in the case of a series of machines arranged along a production line and adapted to perform successive op-.

erations upon identical articles passing in succession along the line, each machine must of necessity be a complete entity, with its own frame or bed plate, for it would be impracticable, owing to the size of the frame or bed plate required, to build the working parts of successive machines into one continuous length of bed plate. Because each machine necessitates its own frame or bed plate, the capital cost of each is correspondingly increased and the feasibility of replacing or altering any one machine in the succession is diminished.

The present invention has for its chief object to avoid these disadvantages and is especially concerned with machine lay-outs of the kind wherein machines are arranged in a succession each to perform repetition operations upon identical ar ticles that are passed in a stream along the production line. The invention provides a method of constructing machines which consists in dispensing with the usual cast or Wrought solid frame or bed plate and employing in substitution therefor a lattice-like, or skeleton, frame-work, built up from bar-like members and clampingbrackets-or lugs, and in utilizing the said members as supports for the working parts of the machine, which parts are desirably mounted thereon, individually or separately but in their correct working relation, by clamping-brackets or lugs that are clamped to the said members. The working parts are referred to as being individually or separately mounted to indicate that they are assembled on the said frame-work one by one or in small sub-units so that the machine September 12, 1935 is actually built up in the frame-work in contradistinction to any arrangement in which a machine as a complete working entity is attached to a framework.

In the arrangement provided by the present invention, the framework is detachably built up from comparatively inexpensive interchangeable or similar parts, such as circular sectional metal bars and split clamping-brackets or lugs. The framework is, therefore, light and may be erected by unskilled labour, and moreover may be transported in pieces for assembly at its destination, for the bars may be packed side by side in long packing cases and the brackets packed in quantitles in other cases. In this manner freightage and tariff charges are reduced and in the case of a breakage the broken member is readily and inexpensively replaceable. Additionally, the framework may readily be extended to accom- 'modate further working parts or machines and this is of importance in connection with a layout of the kind referred to hereinbefore, for all the machines may be built into the same continuous framework which itself is built up by connecting longitudinal bar-like members end to end and supporting them on uprights that are connected by transverse members. Thus the invention may be said to embrace the provision in a machine or machines of a lattice-like or skeleton framework comprising bar-like framework members (e. g. uprights, transverse and longitudinal members connecting them), split clamping-brackets or lugs securing said framework members together, and component working parts of the machine secured individually but in their interacting relation to the framework members desirably by split clamping brackets.

The framework may be built up wholly or in the main of circular section bars, and advantageously at least one rotating part of the machine assembly may be journalled on one of the circular frame members. These members, being circular, may also be employed to support parts of the machine that necessitate rotational adjustment.

In order that the invention may be better understood reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a machine frame according to this invention.

Figure 2 is a section of a pedestal employed therein.

Figure 3 comprises two sections through a clamping-bracket employed in the frame.

Figure 4 is a section of a clip employed for attaching a transverse beam.

Figure 5 is a plan of one end of, and

Figure 6 is a section through, the said transverse beam.

Figures '7 and 8 each comprise two sections of further split clamping-brackets employed in the frame.

Figure 9 is a front elevation showing the manner in which the said frame is incorporated in a machine, while Figure 10 is a section on the line l0l0 in Figure 9, on a somewhat enlarged scale.

Throughout this description like reference numerals indicate like parts.

In the preferred construction of built-up machine frame illustrated there is a plurality of uprights I0 arranged in two parallel lines, each upright consisting of. a suitable length of a circular section bar of steel or other metal, reduced in diameter at its lower end to spigot into a disclike foot plate I I (Fig. 2). The uprights In in each line are connected by outer longitudinal members I2 of a superstructure portion of the framework, (which may be provided at upper and lower levels) themselves consisting of circular section steel or like bars of the appropriate length. These longitudinals l2 are clamped to the uprights ID by split clamping-brackets I3 (Fig. 3). That is to say, each bracket comprises a vertical sleeve [3a, split longitudinally and provided with a transverse bolt hole in a suitable boss or lug to take a horizontal clamping bolt l4 by which the sleeve may be clamped around the upright I0 after the latter has been inserted into it. Integral with this vertical sleeve,there is a horizontal sleeve I32) to receive the longitudinals. This sleeve may either be split longitudinally at one side whereat it is provided with two spaced vertical clamping bolts, but more desirably it is constructed, in two halves, a bottom half of trough-like form integral with the vertical sleeve and a top half which consists of two trough-like caps. Two longitudinal members such as [2 may be laid, with their ends abutting, in the lower half of the sleeve, and the caps placed in position (one over the end of eachlongitudinal) and secured by. clamping bolts I5, of which there are at least two diametrically opposed bolts to each cap. By providing removable caps, it is possible to remove any longitudinal simply by lifting the upper cap, without disturbing the other component members of the framework. It will also be appreciated that the framework may be built up to any desired length by providing the requisite number of uprights i0 and connecting them by longitudinals I 2,'the ends of which abut within the clamping brackets.

The rectangular side frames thus formed by the uprights l0 and outer longitudinals l2 are connected together by transverse members I 6 of the superstructure. (Fig. 1). These members also comprise circular section bars clamped in position by clamping brackets. As represented the uprights are connected together near the floor level by transverse beams I! (Fig. 1) of, say, cast iron. These beams are preferably formed with flat upper surfaces to afford firm supports for bearings to be secured thereto and with flat face ends, and are bolted at their ends to split brackets I8 (Fig. 4) that are clamped to 'the uprights, each bracket comprising a vertical plate lBb formed with bolt holes for the attachment of the beam, the contacts of the plates I8by of the brackets with the flat faces of the beam ends insuring a substantial and rigid transverse connection between the lower ends of the opposing uprights of the framework. The latter is desirably of I-section, machined at the edges of the flanges and along the upper surface of the top flange. On the central web there is a line of through slots 24 (Fig. 6), thereby providing for the attachment thereto in the desired position of certain machine components" or auxiliaries, such as dust-extracting pipes andthe like. In the upper, flat face portion of the beam H, is formed a longitudinal slot l9 preferably of an inverted T-shape 1 into which bolts may be inserted through apertures I901. (Fig. 5) at the ends of said slot, these apertures being sufficiently enlarged to receive the bolt heads and to permit the bolts to be slid along so that their heads are received in the cross barof the T and their stems project upwards through the vertical part thereof. Thus bearing blocks 20, for a line of drive shafting 2| extending along in the base of the framework, may be bolted to the transverse beams or frame members as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 9. Other machine components may also bebolted there-' to, such for example as an electric motor.

While this construction of beam is preferred for connecting the uprights near the base, circular section bars l6 and split clampingbrackets 22 (Fig. '7) are preferred for connecting the uprights transversely at higher levels. The brackets employed consist of a split sleeve 22a adapted to be clamped round the upright It) or a longitudinal l2 by a clamping bolt, and another split sleeve 22b extending at right angles thereto and adapted to be clamped round the transverse bar 5. This second sleeve may (as in the brackets previously described and illustrated in Fig. 3) consist of an integral trough-like lower part and a removable cap. 7 r 7 r The Various interacting component parts of the machine, such as gearwheels and the'like, may be connected in their appropriate working relation to the frame members hereinbefore described by means of split clamping-brackets. In

general, however, it will be found desirable to secure certain of these Working parts to' two inner (auxiliary) longitudinals 30 that extend parallel with each other inside two outer longitudinals [2 at the top of the framework, for by utilizing appropriate lugs or clamping-brackets the height of these two inner longitudinals may be varied according to the arrangement required by the working parts and the relation that any one unit or machine incorporated in the framework bears to other units incorporated therein. It has been found convenient to mount these inner longitudinals 36 on the upper transverse bars 16, which themselves extend across the frame immediately above (or below) the upper longitudinals I2 and are secured thereto by split clamping-brackets 22.

are shown in Figure 8. It will be noticed that the clamping-bracket 33 has one split socket 330. and a second split socket 33b abutting thereon,.such brackets may also be used for connecting any other of the frame members at right angles. 7

It will readily be appreciated that this method of machine frame construction, is extremely elastic. The frame maybe builtupto the required dimensions from simple interchangeable parts, and may be extended or addedyto as occasion requires. Longitudinal: and transverse members may be inserted by means ofclamping-brackets at any location and in any attitude determined by the required location of the working parts that are to be mounted on them by meansof other clamping-brackets. The invention isgcapable of application to many diverse types ofmachines, but it is particularly applicable to the end-paring machine illustrated in Figures 9 and .10. This machine comprises two spaced conveyordiscs 40 secured to a'shaft14l thatois journaled at the upper end of brackets 42 clamped upon the inner longitudinals 3!]. This permits the spacing of the discs 46 to be adjusted in accordance with the length of the rods 44, the ends of which are to be ground. These rods are shown as being of circular cross section and are discharged from a hopper 45 in which they are stacked into notches 46 in the peripheries of the discs, the said conveyor discs rotating past the base of the hopper. Actually in each kind of disc various kinds of notches may be cut appropriate to the section of the rods to be dealt with. For example in each disc there may be three kinds of notches, large semi-circular notches, half-hexagonal notches and smaller semi-circular notches, and attached to each disc there may be an adjustable selector plate having notches in its periphery spaced apart by an amount equal to the spacing between notches of one kind in the disc. Hence this selector plate may be so positioned on the disc that for example it covers the half-hexagonal and small semi-circular notches and only exposes the large semi-circular notches when round rods of comparatively large diameter are to be dealt with.

The hopper d5 comprises parallel end plates 45a, 45b the said end plates having inwardly directed flanges along their side edges. These end-plates are adjustable towards and away from each other in accordance with the length of the rods to be stacked therein, and for this purpose the end-plate 45a is attached to a hopper bar 4500 which spans, and is adjustably clamped to, the auxiliary longitudinals 3i and the plate 451) is secured to a similar hopper bar 41 which is cranked for the purpose hereinafter mentioned. The hopper contracts towards its base to a narrow neck and in this neck there is an upwardly extending plate 48 which is adjustable to adapt the width of the neck to the diameter or thickness of the rods dealtwith. At the upper part of the said neck there is an agitator 48 mounted upon a shaft 5!! that is driven by a cross belt 5| from a pulley 52 on a shaft 53.

This shaft 53 is carried on an upstanding bracket 43 adjustably clamped to the inner longitudinals 30 and drives the conveyor through gears 54, 54a. It is itself driven from the main shaft 2| by a belt or the like 55, and pulleys 56, 51 upon a counter-shaft 58. This counter-shaft is supported in a bracket 59 that depends from and is clamped to the inner longitudinals 33. From the pulley 51 a further belt 60 extends upwards to a large pulley 6! on the shaft 53. The said pulley adapted to be connected to the shaft by a clutch 52 operated by a handle 63.

The conveyor rotates in anti-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 10 and carries the rods loaded into it beneath two retaining bands 64 which are spaced about by an amount equal to .lower end rotatably supports a shaft 14.

- vanes 83 for directing the dust outwords.

.thespacinggofathe discs. 403 rlllach of theseire- ,taining bands runs;approximatelylhalfieway round the conveyor periphery and over certainpulleys. These pulleys includeapair ofjojckey pulleysi'tfi thatgare rotatably-journaled. on one of the inner longitudinals 36 (that inner-longitudinalwhichis immediately below the shaft); further-jockey pulleys 66 which are rotatableupon anaecce'ntric 61 adjustably clamped on one .of theimainilongitudinals 12 so that the belt tensionlmay be adjusted by rotating theeccentric, another pair ofv pulleys68 rotatable on one of the auxiliary longitudinals 3|, and furtherhswivelling jockey pulleys 6.9. The latter are carriedat theend of a forked-armlo. pivotally adjustable. about said longitudinal 3i, and in order to adjust it there is another arm H clamped to the said longitudinal and provided with an adjustment screw 12 engaging the underside of the arm 70.

Also adjustably clamped to the longitudinal 3| there is a split depending arm 13 which at its This shaft carries an emery disc 15 so located that the left-hand ends (Figure 9) of the rods gripped between the conveyor and the retaining band 64 are carried across its periphery and are ground flush. This grinding operation exerts an end-- thrust on the rods (tendingto move them axially) and the said thrust is resisted by a curved plate 76 that is adjustable by means of a screw 11 carried in an arm 18 depending from and clamped to the aforesaid auxiliary longitudinal 3| by a bracket such as 33 (Fig. 8). Additionally the forked depending arm or bracket 73 is adjustable along the said longitudinal 3l, after its clamping bolts have been slacked off, by means of a screw '19 carried in an arm 8! also clamped to the longitudinal. It is to avoid the arm or bracket 13 that the hopper bar 41 cranked, and one end of said bar may be integral with the arm 8.

The sand-papering or emery disc is enclosed Within a cowling 8| having an outlet 82, and the outer face of the disc may be provided with The shaft 14 of the sand-papering disc is driven by a belt 84 from an electric motor 85 slung by means of a split clamping-bracket 86 from one of the longitudinals l2, and the belt tension may be adjusted by rotating said bracket 86 on the longitudinal.

The ends of the rods are therefore ground flush, and when they reach the bottom of the conveyor (whereat the bands 64 leave the conveyor periphery) they are released and fall onto a chute 86a which conducts them to a tray 81.

If the other end is to be ground the rods are removedfrom this tray and returned to the hopper 45 after having been reversed end for end.

Various machine units such as hereinbefore described may be built into a long lattice-like framework along which longitudinal-members extend end to end, the abutting ends being received in brackets such as l3. Such a framework may be provided with asingle drive shaft such as 2| extending along its length and driven by a motor at one end.

It is of course unnecessary that the framework be in one continuous length, as same may be interrupted at intervals to suit'existing requirements or conditions. Also there may be spaces at intervals between certain of the machine units for enabling manual operations to be carried out and/or work stored or collected, and in said spaces work-tables or benches may be fixed cated in the lower part of the framework, consisting of adjustable clamping brackets to be secured to the uprights in desired positions, and formed with flat vertical plates and beam members with flat ends arranged to be bolted to the said flat plates of opposite clamping brackets, the saidbeam members being longitudinally slotted for receiving connecting bolts adjustable in said slots and serving to support bearings for a line of shafting.

2. A knock down skeleton machine framework such as described in claim 1 further characterized by the beam members being formed. with lines of through slots.

MORTON SMITH. 

